Read Out in the Country for Free Online

knew it could be... in her bones, just like the house’s bones. “We’ve got a wonderfully blank page here, Jess, and we can draw on it as we please. Why don’t we? You said you wanted to be--what was it?--at forty-six.”
    “Ridiculous,” Jess said with a little smile and a sniff. “And I’m almost forty-seven.”
    “Then let’s be ridiculous. Let’s have fun.” Lynne heard the ringing sincerity in her voice and realised how much she meant what she was saying--how much she wanted it for both Jess and herself. “Let’s do this.”
    Lynne held her breath, waiting for her friend’s answer, but Jess didn’t get a chance. Molly came into the kitchen still dressed in her pyjamas, her hair a wild tangle, smiling sleepily, and the moment was broken.
    “Hi, Molly,” Jess said brightly. “Fancy an omelet?”
    The rest of the morning passed in a happy whirl of activity as everyone breakfasted on Jess’s fantastic omelets (‘we could offer these specially on Sundays’, Lynne whispered) and coffee before readying for church.
    By the time they were ready to leave the house, a pale, uncertain sun had broken from behind a thick bank of clouds to shine weakly on the damp earth, the sidewalks blanketed with wet leaves.
    Everything smelled and felt fresh and new, and it made Lynne’s heart sing. She hadn’t felt this good in a while , she realised as they walked down Hardiwick’s main street to the white-steepled Congregational meeting house, the kind of timeless building that graced nearly every New England green. She hadn’t felt this good even when she’d made the decision to join Jess in Scotland, she acknowledged. She’d been excited about that opportunity, but there hadn’t been the innate sense of rightness--of things coming full circle--that she felt now, starting a new life in Adam’s old house.
    The church was nearly full by the time they arrived, and Lynne saw with a little glow of pride that between them all they filled an entire pew. She watched as Kathy and Graham greeted friends before the service started, wondering at all the new faces and if she would get to know everyone, if they would become friends. If she took over the house, Hardiwick would become her home. It was a strange and, after twenty-five years in Manhattan, not an unwelcome thought.
    “Good morning Kathy. Graham.” A tall, strapping man with salt and pepper hair ambled over to their pew, nodding at everyone in greeting. “Hello, Lynne,” he added, and with a jolt Lynne recognised him. He was John Tyre, Adam’s best friend from childhood. She hadn’t seen him since Adam’s funeral.
    “Hello, John,” she said, smiling. “It’s good to see you.”
    “You don’t come to Hardiwick often,” John noted, and before Lynne could make a reply, Kathy said mischievously,
    “That might be about to change!”
    John’s eyebrows rose in silent inquiry, but Lynne just gave a little shake of her head. She was hardly at the point of confiding in her fledgling plans, not even to Adam’s best friend from school days. John had been Adam’s best man at their wedding, but they’d seen each other so rarely since then Lynne felt she hardly knew him.
    “Why don’t you have brunch with us after church, John?” Kathy asked. “We’re going to The Mountain High Café.”
    Lynne glanced at Kathy in surprise, for this was news to her. John, she realised, had noted her surprised look, and after a considering moment smiled easily. “I’d like that, Kathy. Thanks for the invitation.”
    The service was about to start, and Lynne watched John walk back to his own pew--he was alone--before she settled back into her seat and searched for her hymnal.
    After the service everyone milled around in the fellowship hall over coffee and muffins. John walked directly over to Lynne.
    “So what brings you to Hardiwick?”
    “We’re here to celebrate,” she answered. “It’s Kathy and Graham’s fiftieth wedding anniversary.”
    “Of course!” John